Dragon Drabble Dump
by Astrid Goes For A Spin
Summary: Drabbles! Need I say more? Bout time I joined the party. Should-have-beens, companion pieces, and venting. Hopping.
1. What Should Have Happened - Academy

**This is mostly to grant my wish that I could have more time for Hiccup this month. I have about twenty more of these in a folder on my computer; not counting the fifty bajillion more that I've got untyped in various notebooks scattered everywhere. **

**So it's a dump for all my HTTYD stuff (so basically everything) that isn't long enough or developed enough to warrant it's own storyline. **

**These topics will: be very diverse. Too many of them focus on Hiccup's leg - we'll get to those - several are crossovers, and a few are about my feelings on "the Big Four," for which they are very mixed. **

* * *

"I was stupid."

Astrid, by no means a stranger to Hiccup's self-depreciation, started at this one. He was sitting on the bluff, back to her, legs dangling over the water, hundreds of feet below.

"Okay, I'll bite." She joined him at the edge. While not afraid of heights, she had to applaud him. The drop was rather uncomfortable without Stormfly's presence nearby. "What have you done this time?"

He still didn't look at her, but sighed. "_Nothing._ That's the problem."

Astrid blinked. "What?"

"The dragons. I haven't done anything about the dragons, and now Mildew's trying to get them put in cages. Just because the dragons don't raid anymore doesn't mean they're not causing trouble… I should have helped with the organization and – you know, like, made the people more comfortable-"

"Hiccup."

"Because really, everyone starting to panic and I can already see that it's going to get out of control and my dad was thinking of all these stupid ideas so I stepped in and told him-"

"Hiccup."

"I know I can do it, but if no one's really even _happy_ with them, just us, then what's the point? I thought everyone would be able to handle it without me – because we're, you know, _Vikings_ – and everyone managed so well while I was unconscious-"

"_Hiccup."_

"I should have _done _something-"

"HICCUP!" she screamed, jumping to her feet. He finally raised his head and looked at her, eyes wide. "Pull yourself together," she snapped, shaking his shoulders. "You did fine! Nobody expected anything like this to happen!"

"But I _should_ have," he said bitterly, shaking his head and looking away.

"No, you shouldn't've," she returned, hands on hips. "You were getting some well-deserved downtime. Nobody in their right minds could have possibly told you the day you started walking again that their Nadder was breaking the roof or the family Gronkle ate dinner! They tried to – and are still – handling it by themselves!"

"Yeah?" he retorted. "You weren't there today. You didn't see the way Mildew stirred them up. It won't be the last time."

"Mildew doesn't even have a dragon," she yelled. "The people who took that responsibility are doing fine!"

"Really?" he shouted. "Did you see what I did today? Terrible Terrors stealing cod. Nadders stealing bread. Gronkles-" He stopped suddenly, staring into the distance. Astrid watched him closely and only because she knew him so well she heard him say, "Oh my gods. That's the problem."

Before she even realized, he'd jumped to his feet, tottered a little but managed to regain his balance and darted off. "That's it! The dragons don't want to leave the people, but they're really used to getting their own food – or even our food! It's just a habit! If the people go hunting with the dragons-"

Astrid swung her legs back onto solid ground and stared after him, running up the steps to his house and slamming the door so hard a shingle slipped from the roof and landed in the grass.

Shaking her head, Astrid smiled and headed for home.


	2. Belchbarf

**Yes, yes, I know. Very short, especially compared to last time. I have about an equal number of snippets like this, which I usually write if I can pause the episode (or whatever) quickly enough to jot down my thought, and "real" drabbles, which are only spawned when something more exciting than this catches my interest. My regular update days for this will be Saturday (for the long ones) and Wednesday, (for the short ones.) **

* * *

"Uhh, Astrid, they're gonna fall. D'you think we should-"

"No."

"Astrid!"

"BelchBarf always saves them. It's consistent. Gods know why they do it, but they do."


	3. Rollercoaster Prohibition

**Inspired by an interesting sign I saw many moons ago at Busch Gardens - for those interested, : / / seaworld parks en / buschgardens - Williamsburg / Attractions /Rides / Griffon scroll down, Disabled Guide, download Access Guide. **

**For me, it was a somewhat amusing sign, and I wrote this on the way back home.**

* * *

Hiccup didn't read the signs. Did anybody read the signs? He'd never had cause to before.

But, one ride away from his joint turn on the roller-coaster, the chagrin was enough to wish he had.

It hadn't been Hiccup's idea to go to an amusement park, but his friends were all going and he'd thought it would be fun. Most of the roller-coasters he'd done so far weren't that different from riding (or, more accurately, being on the receiving end of some aerial punishment from) a dragon.

But less than five minutes from the ride, an awkward-looking attendant, no more than two or three years his senior, had come up to him and insisted he read the rules.

It had been a slight shock to learn that prosthetic legs were prohibited.

Which was annoying.

His friends looked at him as he read the board, Astrid's eyes wide.

"This is lame anyway," she decided, shooting an ugly look at the attendant and grabbing Hiccup by the forearm.

"Loose articles are also not allowed," he continued helpfully "Lockers are downstairs for twenty-five cents an hour-"

"And how would I get back _up?_" Hiccup was beginning to be very irritated.

"Oh. One minute, I'll call my supervisor-"

"You could hop," suggested Tuffnut.

"Why don't _you_ hop, idiot." Ruff pounded him in the side of the head.

"Oh. Wait. Can you do that again?"

"I don't _think_ so," Fishlegs said delicately. "As we've climbed six hundred and seventy-four stairs in a big square so f-"

Astrid _humphed_ in disgust. "If Hiccup's not going, I'm not going," she announced. Tuffnut snorted, and Astrid spat, "And neither are you, dummy. Any of you."

Hiccup stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Oh, I'm going," he assured her. "I might not ever get down from this thing, I have no idea if this is gonna kill me – but I'm going. Or did you think I climbed all those seven hundred-"("Six-hundred-seventy-four," interjected Fishlegs in a whisper) stairs for nothing?"


	4. Eels - Astrid

**Internet troubles. I'm so sorry for Wednesday AND Saturday, but hopefully these two chapters will make up for it. **

**Animal House, which is (I think) one of the better episodes.**

* * *

"Yeah," he agrees, and Astrid wants to giggle – _giggle –_ at how he supports her idea in front of their friends.

"So let's show them that dragons are afraid of things too." She stares as he picks up a pair of eels, walks through the group of yaks, and holds them up, one by one, completely bold and fearless as the dragons hiss and spit.

Something flutters in her chest, and she feels a little faint.


	5. Mitten

**Requested sometime during 2011 by a person I've lost. If you're reading this, you know who you are.**

* * *

"Have yeh seen me mitten?"

Hiccup started at the yell, staring at the ceiling. "Gobber?"

"What?"

Leaving his touchy, sensitive metalworking about to burn in the fire, Hiccup went into the other side of the smithy. "What did you say?"

The ladder to Gobber's house rattled, and with a thump, he landed, shaking the floorboards. "Now, listen here. I asked, did yeh see that mitten I left on the table?"

Hiccup almost wanted to laugh at the idea of Gobber wearing mittens – or, mitte_n_. "Uh, no. When did you leave it there?"

Gobber, wearing a mace as his left arm, scratched his chin thoughtfully, drawing a line of blood. "Not sure. Five years, six? Who counts, anyway?"

Hiccup sighed and rubbed his forehead. "How could I possibly remember that? I was what, eight?"

Gobber shrugged. "Who knows? Yeh used to take all sorts of things back in the day."

"No, I didn't!"

"Look, all I'm saying is that you should look around in your chest at home. Bring it back if you find it. 'S blue…or red…"

"Yeah, no. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make sure your home doesn't burn down." And he dashed back to his work.

"You mean again," Gobber called cheerily after him.


	6. Stoick Hiccup Talk

**Internet troubles. Enough said.**

* * *

Hiccup, standing, looks nervous. His eyes dart to his desk and back to his father's face and remains silent. Stoick, hoping, edges closer.

He can see it now. '_So there I was, right? The Zippleback came at me. I didn't know which head was which, but I figured I'd better give it a try or I was done for. Fishlegs tripped and dropped his bucket and I almost fell, but I managed to throw it – the dragon went crazy. I grabbed my axe and slammed it-"_

Hiccup doesn't do anything. How could he? If he's not causing Stoick as much embarrassment and awkwardness as physically possible, he's not _Hiccup._


	7. A Take on Hiccunzel

**Hey, an extra-long one. Whoa. **

**ABOUT UPDATING: not only am I incapable of actually remembering to update on the right days, but my internet's a little wiggy right now. For example, I was very surprised when I realized this hadn't actually gone up on Saturday. So, I owe you this and a short one. **

**I don't necessarily support the Big Four or Hiccunzel or anything; this was a writing exercise I did a while ago purely for fun. It was not, by any means, during the correct week, but the prompts were kind of nice. **

**Thinking objectively, I think Rapunzel and Hiccup would get along in some respects, like pictured below. Other than that, I think Hiccup would get irritated with her sometimes-airheadedness and naivety, and I can't really picture them doing something together that either considered "fun." Eg, flying stunts or painting. But Rapunzel would admire his passion when he gets fired up.**

**He needs a stronger woman. (Cough cough Astrid cough.) **

* * *

_Day 1: Attractive_

From the moment he saw her, he hadn't had time to think before his curiosity overwhelmed him. He'd stumbled into her cove by complete accident and noticed a banner of blonde hair being brushed rhythmically out the window of a tower…and reaching all the way to the foot, piling up, even. It all belonged to a girl, sitting carelessly on her windowsill with her back to him.

Dumbstruck, Hiccup had leaned on the side of the cove and stared at her, singing to herself a nonsense song, surrounded by the soft perfume of flowers.

"Uh, hello?" he called. She startled, dropping her brush. Hiccup's eyes followed its fall until it hit the dirt, bounced a few times. He ran forward and picked it up. "Uh, this is yours – I mean, I think it's yours – so – uh, should I – should I throw it?"

Hiccup had terrible aim, but he thought he could make this throw if he tried hard enough.

"Oh, no, that's okay," the girl said skeptically, peering down at him and beginning to pull her hair up. "I – actually, yeah, it's fine, don't. I'll – I'll just have Mother get it when she comes back home."

"Your mother left you in a tower by yourself?" Hiccup frowned, not liking the sound of this at all. He stuffed the brush in his pocket. "Do you want me to bring it up?"

"No!"

He craned his neck to look at her.

"I mean, no. It's fine. And – um, anyway, there _is_ no way up."

"What?" Hiccup didn't believe her. "You're kidding, right? You had to get up there somehow."

She giggled. "Actually, I've never, um, left."

Hiccup felt his mouth drop open. "You – oohkay. I – I'm gonna fix this. I will. Just – just gimme an hour or two, and I'll bring that brush back to you. I'll fix everything."

She smiled shyly down at him. "Wait! You didn't tell me your name."

"Hiccup," he called over his shoulder, already running.

"Rapunzel." She whispered, but he heard.

_Day 2: Dark_

It was dark. Very dark. SO dark in the tower that Hiccup could barely sleep.

"Hey – Rapunzel?"

He could hear her turn over in her bed. "Yeah?"

"How do you stand it?"

"Stand what?" Now she was sighing. The window had been covered, and it was pitch-black. He couldn't even see her hair, which was saying something.

"The _darkness._"

"Huh?" He heard her get up, her bare feet padding across the floor with ease. "What do you mean?"

"It's just s_o_ dark," Hiccup explained, turning over so he could rest on his other arm.

She giggled. "You get used to it. But I know my way all around here."

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Wasn't thinking."

He felt her get down next to him, her soft, long hair lying under her. It smelled sweet, a scent he'd never identified before. She moved up close to his arm and laid her head on it.

"Actually," she whispered, "It doesn't get better. It's so lonely up here. That's why I have this." With one quick throw, she tossed the end of her hair up to the rafters and yanked yet another lever, creaking the ceiling open.

Hiccup felt his jaw drop. "Wh – what _is_ that?"

"Collapsible dome," she shrugged. "The stars keep me company." He could see the outline of her now, eyes reflected by the moonlight, the glow glinting off her hair. "Better now?"

"Oh, yeah."

They both slept on the floor that night.

_Day 3: Seasons_

Summer was a fun season at the cove. Rapunzel learned to swim quickly, and Hiccup learned to braid quickly. They spent countless hours splashing in the waterfall, attempting to drown each other, or lying peacefully in the grass and watching the clouds go by.

Autumn colored the cove brilliant oranges and reds, sending a sweet tang into the air. Hiccup and Rapunzel spent their days picking berries and laughing with friends at the _Duckling,_ then going home and charting the fall stars. Rapunzel insisted on getting the winter blankets out, and Hiccup didn't mind.

Winter found them the only two people in the kingdom not snowed in. Although Hiccup still didn't like using her hair as a way to get in, she said it was fine. They sledded and had snowball fights and returned to the tower to pull off their mittens and sit in front of the fire to dry, laughing.

Spring was Hiccup's least favorite month, as his allergies began to kick up, leaving his voice even more nasal than usual, nose constantly running, and a terrible headache. Rapunzel found spring to be her quite favorite month, as Hiccup was in a more tired mood than usual and allowed her to dote much more than ever before.

_Day 4: Heartstrings_

For some reason, whenever Rapunzel played around with her guitar, it seemed to really make Hiccup happy. He'd sit and listen to her ramble for hours. Bolstered by his unwavering attention, she got books and books of music and spent months teaching herself new notes, chords and songs.

When he was willing, she'd serenade him.

_Day 5: Blue Jeans_

"What are you wearing?" Usually so sweet-tempered, Hiccup stopped and stared down at himself at Rapunzel's sharp question.

"Uh… jeans?"

"No," she told him, shaking her long blonde braid and walking around him, carefully inspecting. "You, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, _never_ wear jeans. Why would you start now?"

He gave a nervous laugh. "Um, no better time than the present, I guess."

"You _hate_ blue jeans," Rapunzel informed him. "You don't like the texture, or the color, or the fact that everyone wears them. You don't like the fit, and you don't like that it's a purely American thing and you think that if you wore them, it would shame your Viking heritage."

"Yeah, well…" He couldn't think of a better response than the true reason he'd attempted to swallow all of that. "Well, everybody else wears them."

"Who's everybody else?" Rapunzel demanded.

"Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins, Astrid, everyone else on planet Earth…"

Rapunzel sniffed. "Go home. Change. I don't want to see you again until you're dressed properly."

"I _am_ dressed properly," Hiccup protested.

"Not if I say you're not," Rapunzel corrected him. "And it's my opinion that matters."

_Day 6: Determined_

She'd never seen him so determined. He was sitting at the table, tongue between his teeth, scribbling furiously. She poked her head over his shoulder. He didn't seem to notice.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What? Rapunzel!" He slammed the book closed. "Me? Oh, nothing. Nothing!"

Hurt, Rapunzel backed up a step.

"You looked so… focused…I didn't want to disturb you-"

"But you did," Hiccup said crossly.

"Okay, I shouldn't have," Rapunzel amended at once. "I'll – I'll just leave you alone – when you get like this-"

"No, wait-"

But she'd already run down the steps of the tower.

Hiccup slammed his fist into his forehead. Tentatively, he opened the book again, staring at the necklace design he'd been drawing for her.

Oh well.

_Day 7: Fairytale_

"I'd be Rapunzel," she sighed, lying on her back and holding his hand, watching the clouds go by. "I'm really a princess, but I got kidnapped at birth for my beautiful, magical golden hair." Playfully, she flipped her short brown hair at his face. "My surrogate mother gets killed when my one true love comes to rescue me."

"Oh, fanciful," he snorts. "At least mine's realistic."

"What is yours?"

"I'm Hiccup Horrendous Haddock The Third – don't laugh at the name, it took me forever to come up with that – and my dad's the chief of this Viking tribe. The thing is, I'm not really a very good Viking at all, and instead of killing the dragons – yes, I know, there weren't any dragons, but still, the Vikings _thought_ there were – I tamed one instead and became the first dragon riding Viking ever. How's that?"

"Fanciful," she answers.

"What would you say if I told you the dragon I tamed was the worst one?"

"My hero." She thinks a second, then sits up. "What did you name it? Killer?" she teases. "Rabid?"

She can't help but laugh at his face as he mutters, "Toothless."


	8. Failed Introductions

**Some wonderful person posted a Gif on Tumblr not-so-long ago, and the first two lines come directly from it. Unfortunately, I have no Tumblr account and lost track of it. If anyone knows which one it is, let me know and I'll credit them. If that's you, sorry, but be somewhat flattered I wrote a drabble about it. **

**Like I've said, I don't think that they'd get along particularly well, and I don't really like Merida very much. Sue me. As all of you who know me will quickly figure out, I wrote this for the last line.**

* * *

"All right, let's try this again. Jack, say hello to Merida."

"I still think she's part yeti."

"Hey! You watch your mouth."

"Guys...listen to Hiccup!"

"Yeah. Sure. Thanks. Uh - what? Oh - yeah. Merida, _try_ to say hello to-"

"I don't _want_ to."

"_Merida_!"

"_Fine!_"

"Well? I'm waiting, redhead."

"_Hi_."

"Hi."

"_Hiccup!_ Will you _do_ something about him?!"

"Hey! Not my problem! Would you just get along?"

"Get along? With her? She's gonna shoot that arrow straight through my skull!"

"It'll be better than being a popsicle!"

"Nothing's better than being a popsicle! Popsicles are happy!"

"Do you think they're getting along?"

"Well, the death threats have stopped, right?"


	9. HOC Day

**I once had a teacher who enjoyed making us do activities and eat things to remember groups of important historical people. Beautiful days, those HOC days were. I'd have named the chapter that, by the way, except for the life of me I can't remember what those three little letters stand for. Sad.**

* * *

He did not want to jump off the platform. The firepole stays in front of him tauntingly, but he's not supposed to use it. He didn't have a problem with smashing a stuffed Santa with a plastic bat for 'Knox' or hitting a nail through a paper with '95 Theses' written on it (that one was kind of fun) but he did _not _want to jump off a surrogate cliff or run off a swing, even if it was to remember even more Reformers.

The others had landed just as gracelessly as he would; even Astrid had to take an extra staggering step. He knew he'd be worse.

They were all watching. Astrid huffed, motioning for him to hurry. His stomach clenched. Carefully, he crept forward, trying to be brave. He had to have liked this once, right? Playground. Thinking, he tried to conjure up a memory of himself doing something … active …

Cautiously, he grabbed the bar over the open side. In slow motion, Hiccup lowered himself over the empty three feet between himself and the ground. He gulped.

He was hanging by his hands now. He peeked at the ground as Ruffnut sighed loudly. It was three – maybe four – feet down. He was going to break something. If not his good foot, then his face. Gritting his teeth, Hiccup swung his legs weakly, trying to build up enough momentum to convince himself to … Feeling hopeless, he dropped.

It was almost worse than what he'd anticipated: there was a split second of not-so-terrifying drop, (he could have been playing some sort of … flying game with Toothless) and then his legs were out from under him and the jolt knocked his knees together. Gritting his teeth, pain vibrated outward from his ankle and jarred his stump. Fixed in place, Hiccup finally opened his eyes. His prosthetic was splayed to the other side where it slipped on the wood chips, yanking on his leg awkwardly.

He chanced a glance up.

To his relief, everyone was already on the swings. The teacher gave him a look like, _Freshmen. _

He sighed.

.

Swinging was odd. It was strange to be moved by the momentum of his (unenthusiastic) pumping without feeling it in the flesh and blood and weight of his leg.

The peculiar, slightly exhilarating feeling of all the blood rushing back and forth heavily with the motion of the swing was absent. It gave him a feeling of suspension and imbalance because one leg could feel the movement, but the other felt empty, just a dragging, pulling sensation on his stump.

Astrid was watching him out of the corner of his eye; he could tell. Maybe she was curious, or condescending, but she (and he) stayed quiet as the others goofed off and tried to jump as high as they could.

Finally, she did it too. Just as the swing reached the height of its arc, she leapt, rolling at the moment of impact so she came up on her feet. Grinning, she dusted herself off as Snotlout faceplanted at her feet.

Hiccup had to smile – she made it look easy and dignified.

One by one, the others tried to copy her endeavor – all with fails. Hiccup cringed – he hadn't expected Tuffnut to go down that hard. And Fishlegs – he'd barely made it off the swing.

Something inside him hardened. _He _couldn't do it.

But he could run off a swing.

Something motivated him to pump hard. His swinging was lopsided and made him nervous, but he was determined. He pushed his right pumping to equal the imbalance from the right, and it made something equal enough for him to press his lips together and jump.

There was a brief second where he shot forward, propelled out of the ditch beneath the swing, and then his momentum was carrying him forward and he could hardly tell anything was different.

_It was just like the trick with Toothless._

He was panting, excited. Grinning, he turned back and saw the five of them staring, dumbstruck. His face fell. Quickly, looking down, he went to the swing and sat down.

Astrid plopped into the swing next to him.

"That took guts."

He shrugged. Looked up at her shyly. "Wanna go again?"


	10. Gobber, Part 3

**Part three because this feels right to go first in the story's order, but because it's the closure of my three-part Gobber series.**

**Set at a particular moment in Animal House - _"Get back here, all of you!"_ Gobber tries to talk sense to Hiccup, who apologizes and takes off. Everyone else does, Gobber turns to Astrid, beseeching her to convince Hiccup not to go, but she, like all the other kids, saddle up leave.**

* * *

They used to listen to him, Gobber fumed. They used to take his word as if it came from the gods. He, the war hero, the dragon-slayer, the Belch. They listened to him like a parent, like a Messiah, really. Now, he stands in the snow and stares after them, mouth open, as they follow Hiccup into the blizzard.

Does this mark the end of their transition into adulthood? When they take no store by childhood heroes and find their own hierarchy?

Either Hiccup will be a great chief or Gobber needs to get himself a dragon.


	11. Astrid - Alvin

**A scene you should all recognize, from "Alvin and the Outcasts." **

* * *

Astrid's back crawls as the repulsive old man whispers to her, "Say goodbye to Hiccup!" then calls, "Alvin!"

She has seconds – maybe two – before Alvin's head turns in this direction. She hikes up her elbow and slams it into Mildew's chin and he's knocked unconscious instantly, becoming a dead weight and dropping into her arms.

When Alvin looks, she smiles, even though her stomach's churning and she's sure she won't be able to speak clearly, she simpers sweetly, "My grandfather's frail. He needs his nap."

The Outcast chief looks away and demands again, and Astrid bites her lip, waiting. Any minute now, Hiccup will appear with a Night Fury's warning shriek…

Alvin talks, but she doesn't pay attention. She does pay attention, however, to Snotlout, who proudly runs up the rocks to their enemy with his childhood club and somehow manages to turn the act into a curtsy and give it to him with a smile.

Astrid won't wait anymore, and she carefully takes the old axe from the back of her belt. She closes her eyes and breaths deeply; she has one shot. With a gasp, she pulls it back and throws it, and it arcs through the air –

And Alvin the Treacherous catches it easily. "My old hatchet! I was wondering when I'd get this back…"

Three of the Outcasts hustle through the crowd for her, and the one named Savage grabs her upper arm and hauls her toward the platform, tossing her up on it.

She lands on her feet.

"Trying to kill Alvin the Treacherous…" he goes behind her, and Astrid stays as still as she can, putting on a brave front. "Not as smart as you look."

His voice is deep and gravelly, but the timbre of it as he hulks out of her line of sight betrays how much he wants what he's asking for. "Tell me…who's your dragon conqueror, ey?"

And then he grabs her braid.

She doesn't scream, but she bows under the weight, staggering backward in pain from a million, zillion places on her head, tears welling in her eyes and she can't _breathe…_

Then, "Leave'r alone."

"_Hiccup,_" she chokes. _"_What are you doing?"

Doesn't he see? That what they're doing, they're doing to protect _him_?

He hops down in front of them and says calmly, as if discussing this over tea, "I'm the dragon conqueror."

He can't see. He can never see.

That's why he's worth saving.


	12. The Fate of Alvin the Treacherous

**If you don't get this, read the books. **

* * *

_Surely_ this would be the last Hiccup would see of his archenemy, **Alvin the Treacherous?** The last time we saw Alvin, he was diving deep into water that was being struck by lightning...no one could get out of **THAT** tricky situation alive...**OR COULD THEY?**

Look for the next volume of Hiccup's memoirs...

* * *

**AKA, the next movie. I've already made my mind up, so don't tell me different: Alvin is alive, missing a body part, and**** shall return in the next movie as Drago Bludvist. [He's in disguise...] And no matter what they do about Drago Bludvist, this is perfectly plausible.**

**Although we have our differences, good one, DreamWorks. Nice nod to Cressida here. (Approving.) **


	13. Hopping

**Another random leg-drabbles.**

**Thoughts on trailer, guys?!**

* * *

Stoick was shocked to arrive home and see his son crawling. Dumbfounded, he stood in the doorway, then bellowed, "Hiccup!"

His son looked up at him sheepishly. "Oh. Hi, Dad."

"Son…what are you doing?"

Hiccup grabbed a bit of wall and pulled himself up, wobbling greatly. It was another blow to Stoick's pride when he realized Hiccup wasn't wearing his leg.

"Um…well…you see, I-" he paused, swallowed, and looked imploringly up at Stoick. Stoick braced himself.

"Snotlout and the twins have developed this… this habit," Hiccup began delicately. "Of…well, taking-and-hiding-my-leg-and-I-just-really-need-to-learn-to-_hop_, Dad."

"I see." Stoick didn't, not really, and both of them knew it. Hiccup went to a chair and sat, staring at his father.

"Look. Just – just let me do this, okay? Toothless isn't always there when I need him, and I – I just need to be able to get around without it. I mean, what if something happens to it? I can't exactly just crawl around." Hiccup noticed the look. "Okay, yes, I _was_ just crawling around, but it's _different,_ I just fell-"

.

For the next week, hardly anyone saw Hiccup. Astrid visited a few times, but was blocked from Hiccup's company by a reluctantly snarling Toothless. Each time she came, Hiccup's voice called out to her, "I'll talk to you in a few days! I'm in the middle of something!"

And by himself, Hiccup fought dizziness, going around and around and around.

In truth, he felt rather short-changed. If he had not lost his leg while unconscious, if there had not been a coma-like situation involved, if his leg had not been replaced seemingly overnight by wood and metal, it all would have been different.

Because it wasn't _that_ different, really. He didn't have the same capability as he once had, and there was the pain, but he walked the way he'd always walked, stumbly and almost normal.

He really, really should have learned to hop first. Maybe the transition had been easier, but he was bound to it, chained to the leg like Toothless was to the ground.

And like anything that Hiccup had ever been unable to do, it made him mad. And determined to hop like he'd never need to walk again.

The obsession had started after the first few times Snotlout and Tuffnut had taken it. The first time, Toothless had gone after it himself, and the two of them the second time. Astrid had intervened once or twice. By the third time, they were holding it over him like a weapon whenever they wanted to keep him, and by extension Toothless, out of something.

He was determined not to cave.

He had developed a strategy of his own, as well. He would wait it out and try to do as much normal stuff as possible, which was rather limited with Toothless as a crutch.

Hiccup had been sitting on a stool in the smithy, having a casual conversation with Gobber when he'd noticed how much the old blacksmith seemed to ignore the peg and rely on his flesh and blood.

And it had hit him – it was the perfect solution to his problem. What would be a better deterrent to stealing his leg than to see Hiccup getting around easily without it?

But it was more difficult than he'd thought. Within the first hour, the muscles of his right leg burned with every hop he took, and even more so when he sat (or fell) down. Slowly, though, he improved, single-mindedly doing nothing else.

It worried his dad; he could see that. Toothless had been concerned at first by his falling, then irritated. Hiccup began to hop better; soon enough, he was getting around without tiring, making less stops at walls and tables. He tumbled down the stairs too many times to count.

And he didn't tell anyone – not even Astrid.

So a week after the conclusion of his hop lockdown, when Tuffnut snuck in at night to take the prosthetic leg, Hiccup didn't open his eyes grinned into his pillow.

It didn't have the desired effect when he hopped all the way down the hill to the smithy in perfect spirits and preformed work with only one leg. (Gobber was proud.)

The next morning, the leg had returned, a little beaten up, a little dirty, but it never hopped off again.


End file.
